Women's rights in Jammu and Kashmir

J&K's social, economic and political conditions have increased gender disparity in the region, with men dominating its socio-economic and political processes. Women's roles have traditionally been domestic, and women in rural areas do not have access to education. According to a 2011 census, the literacy rate in J&K was 68.74 per cent; literacy among women was 58.01 per cent. The female high-school dropout rate is higher than the male rate, and one out of every three adult women in J&K is unable to read or write (compared with one out of five adult males).

In many rural areas, the birth of a son is celebrated; the birth of a daughter is not. Males are seen as able to get a job and help support a family; females are seen as an expense, since they will marry and leave home.

Article 10 of the United Nations General Assembly's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women recognises that such gender inequality can be eliminated only by education. The government of Jammu and Kashmir, realising that gender disparity in education must be removed for women in the Kashmir Valley, has begun a number of initiatives. Qualified female teachers are underemployed, however; school infrastructure is poor, and student-teacher ratios are high.

According to the UN General Assembly's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the principle of citizenship operates on the assumption of equality between men and women.[14] In Jammu and Kashmir, however, citizenship is unequal among men and women.[14] If a woman from J&K marries a foreigner, she loses her right to inherit, own or buy immovable property in the state;[15] no such law affects a male in a similar situation.[15] Secularists and ethnic nationalists believe that J&K can survive amid globalization with its identity intact only by protecting Kashmiri culture,[15] and Kashmiri women are discouraged from crossing the cultural threshold;[15] inequality in citizenship is justified as preserving the state.[14]

On 7 October 2002, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court overturned the established legal position.[14] The court ruled that by marrying an outsider, a J&K woman did not lose her permanent-resident status.[14] It was further stated that the original document that had been used as evidence for depriving women of their citizenship did not expressly state so.[14] The decision was contested by the state's political parties, who drafted a bill known as the Daughters Bill or the Permanent Residents' (Disqualification) Bill stripping a woman of permanent resident-status if she married a foreigner.[14] According to law minister Muzaffar Beg, it was "universally accepted that the woman follows the domicile of her husband."[16]

Although the bill was not passed, a similar bill was introduced in March 2010 ostensibly to stave off demographic change;[16] however, the rationale did not address the male role (through intermarriage) in demographic change.[16] That bill was not passed, but it has considerable support.[16]

In 1989, Kashmiri dissatisfaction with Indian rule led to the Kashmir conflict resulting in the abuse of women in the region[6] According to a report by Human Rights Watch in 1993, the Indian security forces use rape as a method of retaliation against Kashmiri civilians during reprisal attacks after militant ambushes.[17][18][19] Professor William Baker states that rape in Kashmir was not the result of a few undisciplined soldiers but an active attempt by the Indian security forces to humiliate and intimidate the Kashmiri population.[20]

When public support of the militancy began to diminish, many militants turned to the political arena; however, the voices of women have not been accorded their rightful place in the dialogues of the Kashmiri conflict and politics.[6] Although women have been the hardest-hit victims of the conflict and have played pivotal roles in separatism and the armed insurgency,[6] their activities are barely mentioned in mainstream narratives of Kashmiri militancy.[6] The media seems uneasy with the idea of female Kashmiri involvement in militancy; when a woman is charged as an overground operative of a militant group, the media swiftly declares her innocent or justifies her.[6]

Cross-border collaborations can be traced back to the beginning of conflict between India and Pakistan. Women in both countries shared a number of issues, such as public and domestic violence, rape, human-rights abuses and inequality, and the environment created by the Kashmir conflict had a negative impact. Groups and initiatives fostering cross-border collaboration created a space for the women and an atmosphere for developing human relationships and substantive dialogue on issues like the Indo-Pakistani wars.

Women's cross-border initiatives have changed and contributed to peace between India and Pakistan. It provides opportunities for face-to-face interactions and dialogue, and has facilitated much-needed understanding between the people of both countries. Women have participated in several processes through meetings with government officials and civil-society groups, addressed concerns such as education and visas, and initiated a media exchange between the countries.[23] When only civil-society groups and government officials had the right to make decisions, groups and initiatives like this were negotiated and sustained cross-border dialogue.[23] Women's experiences and groups are an alternative, nonviolent means of negotiating an end to conflict.

• Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir
• Pragaash band controversy

• Behind the Kashmir conflict
• Politics of rape in Kashmir
• Amnesty International on human rights abuses in Kashmir
• Women's Resistance in Kashmir